help - rishi ancient snow sprout green tea - any experience?

[Teaclouds]

I used to buy a lot, but titally dropped them for the lack of customer service and the 'made up' stories of premium tea. SOme day they will understand that we all know a bit about tea too,not to be jibbed.

[inspectoring]

wow...just tried it...guys - I don't know what to say - it really is not that bad at all...i guess its a little bit of a strong taste compared to their silver needle. Is it worth 170 $? I don't know - only some of the tea masters who are around here can answer that. I have never tried anything in this price range or category.
Personally - because of chip and other crazy people I have migrated to Japanese teas.
Nevertheless, I am still very curious and would love to know other people's experience.

[inspectoring]

Ok just and update for those of you interested. I played around with the parameters and I have to say - one of the best - perhaps after gyokuro this is the best I have tasted !!!!!
I would strongly recommend this to anyone wanted to try out something different. Sweet and but not thick, just a little little little hint on astringency that disappears after 6 minutes. At 8 minutes (as recommended) - a truly complex floral bouqet. Untill I tried Rishi SN and this (today), I did not know the true meaning of the floral bouqet.

So far - 4th infusion and holding strong.

Hope this helps...and pictures to follow in a couple of days....

[Salsero]

Wow, what an impressvive turn around ... and back to back posts 3 months apart! Pix would be great!

I had a Yunnan green last year that was good, but not snow picked and not nearly as interesting as what you describe. Do you know when yours was harvested? Spring 2008 or 2007?

[augie]

If you see them at a grocery store or at a Whole Foods or something, it's very worth it. Even with the price jump, their retail tins are still a better value than their competitors. I think Rishi is some of the best, if not the best, tea you can find in a store.

I agree, sometimes I go to WF b/c they have Rishi. However, my last 2 trips there I have found a lot of flavored stuff, which I don't care for. One tin of Wuyi Oolong for $12 bucks! J. and I went thru that in 2 weeks. I have to stay away from Whole Foods -- every trip is a $100 bill!

[Chip]

Some of the problems I had in the past w/customer service appear to be a thing of the past.

They also garnered 6 top awards at the Expo, pretty impressive.

I am definitely very curious about this vendor. They certainly have an abundant array of fair trade and organic teas. They are commited to this program which is admirable, though admittedly I do not know enough about the fair trade certs.

I will have to read up on this.

[Smells_Familiar]

I can't comment on this specific tea from Rishi, but I can say that every time I've delt with them they have gone above and beyond what I expected. All of my orders have been EXTREMELY well packed and I've got to say their yixing pots are of the highest quality and very affordable. I'd even say their yixing pots have earned my personal "best buy" award, not that that means anything. Now if they could only sell these pots in the 80ml to 130ml size I'd never look to anyone else for my yixing fix.
Once I did have a problem with a Kikumaru pot I got from them. I called them and was immediately transfered to Suzanna (I think that was her name). She was extremely nice and helpful, no attitude at all. I packed it up and sent it back, and two days after I shipped it back the replacement was at my door with a huge tea "sample" accompanying the pot.
If you need to contact them, I'd suggest calling them before emailing. I've called twice and had my questions answered immediately both times.

[edkrueger]

Rishi's customer service is second to none...from the bottom. If you are going to charge premo prices, follow through with premo customer service!!!

I'm going to have to defend Rishi here. They are expensive, but I've been very impressed with their service. I asked for some small samples and they gave me a free 60 grams [10 dollars worth] of a Sencha.

[edkrueger]

They are also the only tea company that has given me a large sample of something drinkable [yes, I am alluding to "Birthday Tea".]

[Space Samurai]

In my long professional and consumer relationship with the folks at Rishi, I've had numerous phenomenal experiences with them, but I've also had some that were bad enough to turn me off.

I think they are the best quality tea at the fairest price that you can find in a store, and their teaware is excellent; I would not hesitate to buy more. But their online pricing is jacked. Sure there are incentives any company offer for buying in bulk, but the way Rishi's prices are set up, if you aren't buying by the pound, you are paying way more than what the tea is worth.

Here's a somewhat off the subject example of something I find problematic with Rishi. Pricing aside for the moment, they just got their first flush sencha in, while I (and many of us here) was buying my shincha three months ago.

[Geekgirl]

They are also the only tea company that has given me a large sample of something drinkable [yes, I am alluding to "Birthday Tea".]

I thought Birthday Tea was from Adagio.

[inspectoring]

I will have to certainly defend Rishi as well. I have dealt with them on a professional level as well as on consumer level. They have always been very courteous and with my order I usually get a lot of samples. Their tea is of the freshest quality and they are the only ones with a wide selection of organic teas. Other than japanese teas, I buy all my stuff from them. I would strongly recommend Rishi to anyone who is into Chinese teas.

Disclaimer: Please I don't own rishi and I don't have any ties with them. I just respect them as a wholesome company that is trying to survive and do business.

[greenisgood]

Yeah I have to also defend Rishi as one of those vendors that I found early and haven't "grown out of." I absolutely love my Fukugata kyusu and my newly acquired yixing (about which i am no expert but it seems of high quality for only $35). I went to a Rishi tasting at a local co-op and simply mentioned to the rep that I was interested in a new yixing and he handled my order personally through e-mail and waived shipping. By far my best teaware has come from Rishi.

And yeah their tea is sometimes really expensive and kind of all over the place with harvest dates and what not but it's still better than most other big vendors (Republic, Teavana, etc.) for having really quality stuff along with your more "mainstream" mango ceylon and blueberry rooibos offerings. I dunno if they have it anywhere else but my local co-op has a lot of their teas in bulk for WAY cheaper than their online store. It's not as perfectly fresh but I can get Jade Oolong for $3.50/oz and the Golden Yunnan for about $2.50 if I remember correctly.

[Chip]

Rishi's customer service is second to none...from the bottom. If you are going to charge premo prices, follow through with premo customer service!!!

I'm going to have to defend Rishi here. They are expensive, but I've been very impressed with their service. I asked for some small samples and they gave me a free 60 grams [10 dollars worth] of a Sencha.

Ummm...could you note my most recent Rishi post below from days ago vs the one you quoted from almost 6 months ago. I had some bad experiences in the past with an individual who is no longer with the company. My recent experiences have been very good. Suzana has been great and very responsive and very professional.

Some of the problems I had in the past w/customer service appear to be a thing of the past.

They also garnered 6 top awards at the Expo, pretty impressive.

I am definitely very curious about this vendor. They certainly have an abundant array of fair trade and organic teas. They are commited to this program which is admirable, though admittedly I do not know enough about the fair trade certs.

I will have to read up on this.

And I was wrong about the 6 awards...it was 7!

[Space Samurai]

I do not know enough about the fair trade certs. I will have to read up on this.

www.transfairusa.org
http://www.transfairusa.org/content/cer ... floid=2283 (Fairly certian that this is where Rishi's "Ancient Tree Teas" are coming from).